... The people of O`ahu reckoned from the time when the sun set over
Pu`u o Kapolei until it set in the hollow of Mahimaomao and called this
period Kau, and when it moved south again from Pu`u o Kapolei and it
grew cold and the time when young sprouts started, the season was called
from their germination (oilo) the season Ho`oilo. There were therefore
two seasons, the season of Makali`i and the season of Ho`olio." (S.M.
Kamakau, Mo`olelo Hawai`i, Vol. 1, Chpt.2, p. 23.)
Watching the sun set off Waikiki is a favorite pastime for hundreds of people
who gather along the beach perhaps hoping to glimpse the "green flash"
as the final rays of the sun disappear over the horizon. The Hawaiians
also watched the setting sun with keen interest as a way of marking
the seasons. Recently, Rick Scudder of the Conservation Council of Hawai`i
brought to our attention that the Waikiki Aquarium occupies an important
observation site for a sunset event of significance to the Hawaiians.
This event occurs every May 1...
The following excerpt is from the article "Pu`u o Kapolei" by Joyce
& Michael Akin and Rick Scudder published in "The Native Hawaiian",
volume IX, no. 12, dated November 1985.
" ... Pu`u o Kapolei is a small hill at the southern foot of the Wai`anae
mountain range, also known more recently as Fort Barrett. Pu`u o Kapolei
is an important cultural site and at one time contained a heiau on its
peak.
In our research, we noted that Pu`u o Kapolei was written about in several
places in Sites of O`ahu. What intrigued us was the message of Samuel
Kamakau about the use by early Hawaiians of Pu`u o Kapolei as a marker
for the division of the seasons:
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